I've gotten some mycology knowledge into my belt now and decided it might be worth the effort to search for some actives now, especially since I haven't been feeling well and could use some medicine.
I think it's safe to say some of the NJ actives are in season right now. (panaelus cinctulus, psilocybe ovoidiocystidiata, gyms)
It rained heavily last night so I spent 3 hours today going to the local forest which has a brook running through it; I got there at about 8:30 or 9 latest. I was hoping the brook would be running higher especially since it just rained but it was quite low running.
Some observations I made:
I DID see mushrooms, quite a lot actually, but none of the ones I was looking for it seems.
I realized I probably arrived later than desirable, since many of the mushrooms were swarming with tiny flies.
I saw one tree in particular with dozens of mushrooms growing on the ground near it. 

I think it's safe to say I've made the correlation that mushrooms grow on/near dead logs/trees with greater frequency. I did however, near the end of my forage, find an out-in-the-open 5" tall, completely white gilled mushroom with no annulus. I tried to take it home for ID but it broke in my pocket. I figured it was poison.
Somewhat to my surprise, I found hardly ANY mushrooms near the brook; maybe there would be more if it was an actual stream/river.
I checked some silver maple trees where I half expected to find Gymnopilus Junoneus, but to no avail... hmm.
The thought crossed me that elevation was an important factor, but I didn't confirm until I went home on wikipedia that some mushrooms prefer lowland.
It occurred to me that I saw more mushrooms near the entrance of the forest than the actual center areas of the forest, but I'm not sure if I can make a sure correlation there.
I saw two fairy rings next to each other of the same mushroom. A mystery I will have to figure out one day.
I saw an area with numerous dead trees logs; many with dark meaty mushrooms (ID?) And one of the trees had huge but rotting (with flies) fungus (pictured). I took a stick and knocked'm all off the tree after.
I wonder if this medium-small forest is suitable to find actives, or if I have to walk 40 minutes to and from a better park.
As I finally left, I saw at the edge under a bush a HUGE round mushroom, larger than a soccer ball. I cut it in half and it was greenish/orange. 

I will definitely try to bring mosquito repellent next time.. my poor ankles.
My total loot: (I easily ID'd the right as Artomyces pyxidatus, which I nibbled on to confirm its peppery taste, but the mushroom ID I found on google has found 0/5 of the mushrooms I've found so far. For example, it failed to id the chanterelle looking shrooms with yellow gills ( upper left) and the bottom left I found in my backyard under a rose bush which smells like it could be edible. The center-left tiny shroom i found with only the pileus sticking out was super slimy. I read that is a bad sign, but could it really be going bad with hardly more than 1.5cm of stipe grown?
Edited by ScriabinAnime (08/17/16 12:43 PM)
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OK, so the ones with flies growing on the tree are oysters but obviously past their prime. The one with grenish inside is a giant puffball but also past. Those 2 are edible when fresh. The giant puffball needs to be all bright white inside.
The picture of the group of mushrooms is a bit too blurry to properly ID some. The ones with the yellow gills don't look like any chantarelle I've ever seen. I wouldn't mind a clearer pic pf that to help ID it though. You have what looks like crown tip coral there too but again it looks a bit past. They should also be nice and white.
-------------------- I'd like to think I'm smart enough to realize how much knowledge I don't have.
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